Description:This course offers a focused investigation into a single topic. The topic can be, for example, focused simply on one specific techniques or materials, or can allow for hybrid practices, context-driven strategies, and also take on larger themes. The topics class will allow students to explore the respective areas in more focus and depth, through research-based studio work. Reading in this class is seen as an integral part of student’s studio practice. The following will be offered in spring 2015:

City as Studio: This class looks at New York City as both a source of material and a site for artistic intervention. Through a series of in-class prompts, often taking place on the street or other public locations, students will examine what draws attention and what goes unnoticed, how personal life and public life connect, and the relationship between sense experience and stimulus in the urban landscape. Over the course of the semester students will produce a series of works to be presented both in the classroom and in the city itself, using single channel video, mixed media installation and a variety of performance approaches ranging from participatory walks to public actions. For context we will look at the work of a range of artists in diverse media who have engaged the city in their practice, including Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Todd Shalom, Swoon, Trisha Brown, David Hammons, John Pilson, and others.